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J. T. COLLINS. SEWING MACHINE.

Patented June 25, 1895.

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NITED STATES PATENT Fries.-

JOHN T. COLLINS, OF IIARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE MERROW MACHINE COMPANY, OF SA ME PLACE.

SEWIN GrMA CHI N E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,722, dated June 25, 1895. Application filed January 17,1895. Serial No. 535,215. (No model.)

To aZZ whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. COLLINS, a citizen of the United-States, residing in the city and county of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Overseaming-Machines,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of machines in which two threads are employed, one of said threads being carried through the fabric by an eye pointed needle, and the other of said threads being carried by a looper, which is reciprocated above and below the fabric and around the edge thereof, and the invention consists principally in a new and improved form of looper, and in combinations of the same with mechanism for operating it, and to co-operate with it.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple and rapid machine for overseaming or finishing the edges of fabric or other material.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine embodying this in-. vention, parts being broken away to display the looper and its operating mechanism. Fig. 2 is aleft hand view of the looper, the needle, the needle-carrier, and a portion of the needlecarrier eccentric connection. Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are detached front views, showingthelooper and the needle with their threads in different R, the feeding cam. The main shaft C is journaled in the frame of the machine and carries the lower cam E and also operates the feed mechanism.

The upper cam F is supported upon and secured to its shaft K, which is journaled i the frame of the machine, 7

The two cams E and F are provided'with spur gears f. f. attached thereto or made integral therewith, and these gears mesh so that both revolve together. One of said cams is provided with a groove 6', and the other with a groove f, into which project the pins g g attached to the looper carrier G.

The looper carrier G is pivotally supported upon the cylindrical part it of the sliding block H, which is supported upon the door a and is arranged to slide longitudinally between the beveled gibs'a, a

The looper g, is adjustably secured to its carrier Gby means of the screw 9 so that it may be adjusted longitudinally or rotated tiponits shank.

The form or curvature of the loopers shank may be modified to adapt it to the location and special construction of the actuating devices, the essential requisite being that its point or operating portion should obtain the motions necessary for engaging the-needle thread, as it is moved toward the edge on one side the fabric and presenting the looper thread on the opposite side, and it is obvious that the outline or form of the hooked end or retaining shoulder-0f thelooper may be varied within limits without materially affecting its mode of operation and the results produced.

When the cams E and F are rotated the looper carrier together with the sliding block H is reciprocated and the cam grooves 6') are of such form that the looper is carried forward under the needle plate n, then backward, then tilted upward and around the edge of the needle plate n, (the edge of which is provided with a finger n) then forward above the needle plate and the presserfoot M, then backward and downward around the edge of the needle plate, thus completing a cycle of movements at each complete rotation of the cams E and F.

The upper cam shaftK being secured to its cam and adapted to rotate in its bearings in the frame, and being provided with the wrist pin L, the needle 1', isreciprocated when the cams E and F are rotated, by means of the connection J, pivoted to said wrist pin and to a pin 1" pivoted to the needle carrier I, the

latter being pivoted to the frame of the. machine by means of the screw 2 The needle ICO is secured to its carrier by means of a clamp i and screw '5 The presserfoot M is adapted to slide verticallyin a groove in the head of the machine and is held down upon the needle plate by means of the spring on for the purpose of clamping the fabric in a manner common in seaming machines.

All of the operations above described are common in overseaming or, crochet machines, and machines containing analogous looper driving mechanism are illustrated in Patents Nos. 414,254. and 441,315. 1

Such machines are well known to those familiar with overseaming machines and croicheting machines.

The machine herein described and illustrated is intended for the production of an over edge seam or finish (littering in character and construction from the crochet stitch or finishes produced by machines analogous to the above mentioned, especially in that the threads are not interlooped at the edge of the fabric, but the seam produced is similar to that which has heretofore been made by some machines and has sometimes been known as the button hole stitch. It is produced in the following manner to wit: It being understood that the needle t' and the looper g are threaded as is usual in seaming machines and that the fabric or other material is placed under the presser-foot as in operating such machines, the hand wheel D is rotated and the looper and needle are operated as has been explained. These parts are so timed in their movements, that when the needle has reached its lowest point of travel, having carried its thread doubled, through the fabric, the needle and looper have reached positions similar to those illustrated on Fig. 5; and continuing the operation the needle commences to rise and the looper commences to travel in the direction of the arrow (in Fig. 5) and as its backwardly curved point or book g passes the needle, said hook grasps the loop of the needle thread at the back side of said needle and carries said loop, outward toward the edge of the fabric as shown in Fig. 6, then upward and around the edge of the fabric and forward over the upperside of the fabrics edge to the position shown in Fig. 3 where the needle has also risen above the fabric, but the loop of needle thread has been carried around the edge of the fabric and the needle thread therefore extends through the fabric at the point where the needle penetrated, around the edge of said fabric and around the looper. As the looper moved around the edge of the fabric and above its upper surface, the looper carried its thread (doubled) through the loop of needle thread which was grasped by the point or hook of said looper below the fabric, and on account of the form of the looper, the loop of needle thread is not carried far from the fabric and is not therefore made much larger or looser than is needed for producing the proper seaming or finish, and any surplus length of said loop at this period of the formation of the seam, may be afterward taken up by giving a suitable movement to the looper subsequently. As the operation continues the needle is moved downward to again penetrate the fabric, and in so doing its point passes between the looper thread and the looper as shown in Fig. 2 causing the needle thread to be laid over the looper thread as the needle continues its downward movement and as the vneedle and looper move to positions illustrated in Fig. 4. As the looper continues its downward movement from the position shown in Fig. 4 the needle thread loop, 8' previously taken from below the fabric by the hooked point 9 of said looper, slips off from the looper, or in other words said backwardly curved point or book of the looper slips through said loop which latter is deposited upon the edge of the fabric but with the looper thread 15, passing through the said cast off needle thread loop 5', forming a binding stitch.

It will be understood that for ordinary seaming purposes the fabric is suitably advanced or fed along each time the needle raised out of said fabric so that the needle penetrates the fabric at points uniformly separated.

Any convenient known means for feeding the fabric may be employed.

The point g 'of the looper g is turned or twisted slightly to facilitate its taking the loop from the side of the needle below the fabric, and usually the needle is slabbed somewhat as indicated at Z to further insure the same action. The looper isalso preferably slabbed as indicated at y so that the point of the needle will be certain to pass back of'the looper thread when the needle moves downward as has been explained. i

" The finger n is for the purpose ofpr otecting and supporting the edge-of the fabric, particularly while the stitches are being formed around the edge thereof and to enable the machine to produce a chain of interlocked threads in the absence of the fabric. The stitches are formed around the edge of the fabric and embrace the finger also, butas the fabric is advanced the stitches are fed from the finger. The finger is not an essential but is usually employed for the purposes mentioned. In seaming some kinds of material a tighter seam is produced by dispensing with the finger. The usual tensions are employed. It will be observed that the looper passes in the rear of the needle below the fabric and in front of the needle above the fabric.

Continuing this operation at various points along the fabric a succession of binding stitches is formed along the edge of the fabric producing an over edge seam or finish. h

liVhile cams have herein been illustrated as employed for operating the looper, I do not limit myself to such construction and any suitable known means may be employed for operating said looper.

It will be observed that the looper reciprocates in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of movement of the needle and that the two paths intersect, the looper mak-' ing a stroke above the work plate and fabric at a point just outside the path of the needle so that the point of the latter will enter between the looper and the thread carried thereby, while the reciprocation of the looper below the work plate and fabric is just inside the path traversed by the needle and, further, that the point, hook or shoulder on the looper enters between the needle and the thread carried thereby during the backward or retrograde movement of the looper, that is during the portion of its reciprocation below the work plate when the looper is approaching the edge around which it is carried preliminary to the next succeeding reciprocation above the work plate.

The term backwardly hooked-looper as employed herein is adopted as applicable to a looper of the kind shown wherein the point or hook which takes the needle thread and carries the under or supplemental thread through a loop of the needle thread ,is arranged to face or project backward with relation to the body of the looper or toward the finger or edge of the fabric around which it is carried, so that it will pass between the needle and the thread carried thereby as it is drawn or moved from a point beyond the neodle toward the finger or fabrics edge, thus drawing a loop of the needle thread on one side of the fabric, which loop is carried back onto the body of the looper in rear of the thread guide or eye in the looper as the latter passes around and is advanced toward the needle on the opposite side of the fabric.

Having thus described my invention, I now claim 1. In an overseaming machine the combination with the work support and areciprocating eye pointed needle, a backwardly hooked looper reciprocating alternately on opposite sides of the work support or fabric around the edge thereof, said looper being provided point or end facing the edge of the fabric I when beneath the latter, so that as thelooper is caused to approach the edge of the fabric during its excursion thereunder its pointwill be entered between the needle and the thread carried thereby; substantially as described.

2. In an overseaming machine, the combination with awork support and areciprocating eyepointed needle a looper guided to reciprocate on opposite sides of the work support and around the edge thereof, said looper being provided with a thread eye and an upwardly extending hook portion, the end or point of which faces in the direction of the shank or body of the looper and toward the edge of the work support around which the looper is carried when withdrawn from beneath said work support, whereby as the looper is moved toward the edge of the fabric on one side thereof its -hooked portion will pass between the needle and the thread, drawing a loop thereof toward the edge of the fabric, and, as the looper is carried around the edge of the fabric and advanced toward the needle, it will passthrough the loop and present its thread in position for the needle to descend between said thread and the looper, substantially as described.

3. In an overseaming machine, the combination with a work support and aneye pointed needle guided to reciprocate in a curved path, a backwardly hooked looper guided to reciprocate above and below the work support in a plane transverse to that of the needle, but intersecting the latter so that the reciprocations of the looper will be performed -alternately on opposite sides of theneedle, said looper being provided with a body portion containing a thread eye and a hook portion whose entering end or point projects rearwardly or toward the body portion, substantially as described.

. JOHN T. COLLINS. Witnesses:

S. M. BENEDICT, L. E. PIKE. 

